Cambodian recipe
How to make Cambodian red curry
សម្លការី
All of Cambodia, cooked for weddings, festivals and family celebrations
A mild, fragrant curry of chicken or beef simmered in coconut milk with red kroeung paste, lemongrass and spices, with chunks of sweet potato, potato, carrot, onion and long beans. It is eaten with rice, with fresh rice noodles, or with a crusty baguette for dipping, a habit from French times.
Ingredients
- 800 g chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
- For the paste: 2 stalks lemongrass (sliced), 4 cm galangal or ginger, 4 cloves garlic, 3 shallots, 4 dried red chillies (soaked and seeded), 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon paprika
- 800 ml coconut milk
- 1 large sweet potato and 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 carrot, 1 onion and a handful of long beans or green beans, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoon palm or brown sugar
- Steamed rice, rice noodles or a baguette, to serve
Method
- Pound or blend all the paste ingredients with a splash of water until smooth. This is your red kroeung.
- Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the paste gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until it smells fragrant.
- Add the chicken and stir for 3 minutes to coat it in the paste. Pour in the coconut milk and 200 ml water and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the sweet potato, potatoes, carrot and onion, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the beans for the last 5 minutes, then season with fish sauce and sugar. Serve hot with rice, noodles or bread.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The Khmer word kari is believed to come from Tamil, and the sweet potato is what sets Cambodian curries apart from other Asian curries. In the countryside curries are a treat, kept for holidays because spices and fresh coconut milk take time and money.
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